WOULD YOU LIKE SOME CHEESE WITH THAT Whine

We started on the "Art is Work' blog. Really, we should be on the teaching is work blog. How is teaching in your area? What is good, what is bad? How can you make your life easier?Could be high school, elementary, hobby classes, whether you teach it or take the class. This is your chance to vent.TJR.

When my son started school it was a private Christian school, there curriculum was strong in theater but lacked in any other kind of art. So I volunteered to teach art programs to the class because I thought it was so important. I would supply materials and tools and do the firing, my problem was the the teacher would leave the room with children that I was not a authority figure over. It would take me quite a while to get the rowdy kids of settle down while the children eager to start had to wait. The older the classes got the worse the behavior I finally gave up at the junior high level. The teachers didn't need to do any thing but hang around so the children would be more orderly. That's my beef. Denice

When my son started school it was a private Christian school, there curriculum was strong in theater but lacked in any other kind of art. So I volunteered to teach art programs to the class because I thought it was so important. I would supply materials and tools and do the firing, my problem was the the teacher would leave the room with children that I was not a authority figure over. It would take me quite a while to get the rowdy kids of settle down while the children eager to start had to wait. The older the classes got the worse the behavior I finally gave up at the junior high level. The teachers didn't need to do any thing but hang around so the children would be more orderly. That's my beef. Denice

I had artist in residence programs that would be in an after school arts program. These folks were regular artists that would come in and do a 1 or two week workshop with the kids. When it came time for a potter to come in, I would find my room in much disarray the next day. I started hanging out or checking in more often as I was working on sets at the time. Eventually I went to the administrators and laid out the fact that these people were not teachers, not used to keeping track of 15 junior high to senior high kids, and that the district was in jeopardy of having major problems. I also gave them a solution-hire a teacher for an after school stipend to cover the logistics of discipline, keeping track of kids(attendance), and other non teaching duties. This was agreed upon, and the problem was greatly alleviated. Look, I am not putting down artists, but they deal with different types of problems, and many of them work and interact with much older audiences. Most are great teachers, and want to share, but are not able to deal with discipline, attendance and other issues when dealing with a younger population. Being friends to the kids will often set you up for a steam roller, and every one wants to seem cool, but there are limits.